How many times have you heard those words? Never surrender! “Don’t give up” “Hang on Baby ” or as they said in the 70’s “Hang in there! Things will get better!”

The truth isoften they don’t (not just because we said they will) at least not in OUR timing. I have to remind myselfat times Abraham waited a lot of years for that “one son” and he didn’t live to see the thousands of heirs he had (after his death) Or millions ……

In Genesis 22:17 The promise to him was his descendants would be more than the sands in the sea. That’s a lot of descendants! Then we have this keeper in Hebrews to think on:

“Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise” –Hebrews 10:35-36 NKJV

The Will of God?What is that? Well it depends. For you it may be patience, perseverance-or doing one more thing, waiting one more day, Or just doing what God says when you do not FEEL LIKE IT anymore. I can tell you the will of God is to NOT draw back toward death. When you feel like giving up FIGHT HARDER! Get Mad (at the devil) and say “BACK OFF satan I belong to Jesus Christ! HE WILL DEFEND ME! amen!!

Yes, we all get tempted to give up. Don’t let those ministers fool you! They can’t say it or we’d lose confidence IN THEM. Ministers of God cannot afford to show how scared they are or how frail they feel (very often) Or they would not be the rock or pillar of strength we need them to be. Somebody has to stand up like Moses and say “SEE TODAY HOW GOD DELIVERS THEE!” Someone has to say:

“Things are going to be just fine God is with us” We Have to! (Why?) Because that’s what being a light truly means…..We can’t give up! We must fight! THERE HAS been Times I felt I could not go on anymore. One of my prayers at those times was this:

“I can hardly go on Father I am overhwlemed right now. “I feel like giving up” and then I would say “but If all I have left is the strength to tell you with my mouth “I trust in you” That’s what I will do. I tell you Father I trust in you and satan I tell you GOD ISWith Me”

Right now do what you can! Give it all you’ve got! Don’t give up!

Abraham Didn’t! He did not waiver he trusted God! And that’s all he had to do to secure the promise. -Never Give up Never surrender. It’s not over!

It happens. If I were to tell you every story I have personally seen or heard where people fake being a christian, take advantage of the church (time and time again) with no remorse or repentance (or willingness to change) You’d be appalled.

I have been faced with a plethora of reactions when I say “Hey “There are con Artists” Watch out! Some say well You have to love ALL the time turn the other cheek……

“Well that’s not our business,” They say, “We just have to love, and be kind like Jesus said or did.” Really? He let the people sitting at his feet listening to him go hungry for three days (was it a fast?) He told a woman asking for healing for her daughter the children’s bread was not for dogs! There is no record of Jesus gathering his disciples together and saying “Come on boys, we’re going to hand out free meals today to everyone in the leper colony!”

I had a woman tell me (recently) that she tried to help someone (got burned) and after she’d helped this person ranted at her (she didn’t help enough apparently) and I have also experienced this myself.

When I was a property manager, I remember a couple who got the church to pay their deposit and rent, and moved in. They didn’t have a very good back ground check but hey, the church was helping, so we overlooked it in the interest of good will and charity. After all isn’t that what we are supposed to do? Love our neighbors? Jesus indicated brethren first and be wise (as serpents) but somehow that goes unheard by many as our examples of great humanitarians loom before us as “the great example” of how we should be.

This couple moved in, wrecked the place, made a mess that would make your hair curl, soiled carpet, ruined floors, stains, grease debris that cost the owner literally thousands to repair. They moved out owing two months rent, as it was never paid, and their promise to pay was not kept.

I’ve met people who say “Just go to the church for help,” there is a network of people who do this, and go from town to town, place to place, leaving damage, debris and sorrow in their wake. The people who get burned often feel God let them down somehow, or they just decide never to help anyone again and develop a ‘no trust” standard.

This is so sad (to me). Do we really need these extremes? Help everyone or help no one?

I know it’s hard to decide if someone is “worthy of help.” After all we do have the example of Jesus saying “Judge not” and there is this nugget:

“To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold yourtunic either. ” Luke 6:29

But see you have to LOOK hard at the whole picture here. Verse And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. Verse 31 of this same passage says:

“And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”

Do you want God to just let you be a con artist? Hurting everyone as you go? Leaving a trail of destruction in your wake? Certainly the disciples were not like this. I want God’s correction don’t you? SO see the whole counsel of God is not to just let someone rape you financially and take all your goods over and over again. And sit and cry and say “God did this to me.” I was Just obeying his word!

I don’t have time to tell you all the passages about being wise (in proverbs) It saddens me that people who don’t study the bible allow leaders (who are setting some bad examples by the way) direct their paths, (instead of learning from the Holy spirit for themselves).

I too followed their examples at one time. I gave and gave and thought “Well God would reward me” and grieved the heart of God in the process. He wept for me. Every time he tried to bless me, I thought I had to give it all away. I allowed con artists to (literally) steal from me, thinking it was God’s will. If you are a person LIKE the disciples Jesus was talking to YOU WANT Corrected. Right? (if you are being a con artist?)

Don’t be afraid to call a spade a spade Or get discernment! You won’t be less in the Kingdom of God you’ll be MORE. More able to help those God wants to help…..

Less foolish and less fooled..Not deceived! Til next time; -Laura Grace

This past July I was led to schedule a mission trip. It was 5 days long.

I made brochures and anointed them sent them to 65 churches. Got ONE reply but no speaking engagement I was ready too. I even called them as a follow up. I heard “We don’t let women preach” Or “we’ll get back to you” …..I felt so led to go. I was going to talk about getting God out of the box and spirtual pioneers. Anyway so Then the money for the trip evaporated and I said, “God if this mission trip was you you’lll provide for it!

He did. …..a new person I just met gave me 500.00.

He prayed. encouraged me. One stop God told me to make was in Missoula MT- a place called the Poverello center. When I (we Tim was with me) walked in there I saw nobody but a clerk behind a desk. God told me to grab the dollar bills in my car caddy and pass them out and say “I love them” so I did there were 17 dollar bills. When I saw no one I started to leave I saw no homeless no people so …..He said “Go back” so I went back- and saw a hallway. when I came around that corner I saw it led to a kitchen and there wre people with backpacks and things who just ate. (soup kitchen)

I started passing out dollar bills saying God loves you and looking them straight in the eye as I did it. “thank you” “God bless you too” …..I got to the last people in a group (3) and gave them the dollars but they were different. One said “if you only knew our situation no place to live no car…..”

I felt led to witness to them. I told them my story of how I used to live in Missoula. How broke I was car always breaking down….had faced homelessness……and tears running down my face said “It’s not about church it’s about Jesus’ give him your heart he will take care of you” …….He loves you”

The gal saw had my book in my hand Grace to the Rescue it was what I used to hold the dollar bills she asked what is that? “My book” I gave it to her. they let me pray with them.

It wasn’t until I waved and left the room that I realized I had passed out every dollar bill, everyone got one…….and there were none left.

Only God could have done that. He planned it. Orchestrated it.

The rest of the trip I prayed with who God led me to pray for. People who owned a store that was closing a little girl forced to play nanny for her aunt who seemed Messed up on drugs or something…

It was a remarkable trip. And the moral of the story is:
GO where God tells you to go! And forget the fanfare.

I know we’ve all heard the saying “How beautiful are the feet of those, who bring good news.” (Isaiah 52:7) And even Jesus himself quoted Isaiah, letting everyone know he was the fullfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies, about a coming saviour, bringing Good News.

To many of the Chief Priests and Pharisees, this was not good news. I was reading this morning how they yelled and screamed for him to be crucified. “He said he’s the Son of God” they said “Crucify Him!” (John 19:6). To the disciples who were told “Ye of Little Faith” by Jesus- (while in training) perhaps it didn’t always “Feel like” good news to them, either. Man always has an answer HE thinks is best, and God always has an answer.

When the two do not agree, worlds collide.

We need to be aware of our choices, and what answer we are going to give creedence to. I want to remember that those who stopped following Jesus, did not get anymore answers, or correction from God. He doesn’t throw his pearls out-for those who tend to trample on them. An idol is something that we give more creedence to than God and that CAN BE our circumstance, or problem sometimes.

IN other words what is bigger to me? God, or my problem (the giant) I am facing? Jesus followers ask these hard questions. Those who don’t do not, and blame God for every single outcome (good or bad). So then, the gospel is always “Good News” but not to some.

We (sometimes) try to bend it, twist it or even water it down to make it more palatable, but that is not wise. Oh Sure, God knows our hearts (I just wanted them to get it Lord!)

But, we don’t need to “adjust” God’s word so that it “feels more” Like good news to those who won’t listen. We Don’t have to make it into Good News, It already is. The Good news is God is speaking (and has spoken) the question is: Are we listening to Him? Or something else? Incline your ear (toward him) Proverbs 2. If you care to…..

Bully: a person who uses strength or power to intimidate those who are weaker. (or maybe just feel like they are)

The bullying ways of the misinformed

Will steal your peace and rob your Joy

They seem to be everywhere these days

Lurking behind the murky haze

They wait to pounce on everything

Seeing what trouble, they can bring

They say the only want to assist

But won’t depart- when you insist

Argue and win, is their only game

And to make you feel small

And very ashamed

Don’t fool yourself- oh child of the King

These foxes can spoil most everything

You don’t have time for their childish games

They infer you are stupid without calling you names

They spend their time in fruitless ways

and behind all this, is a jealous craze

You’re doing what you should, they don’t agree

For if they do-they will have to look at themselves

Do you see?

If only you’d STOP doing the right thing!

They’d have to just watch- the blessing it brings

Beware of Jealousy, its subtle for sure

With the help of your King

You will endure

Turn from these people!

They don’t have a clue

Just glorify God

In all that you do.

by Laura Grace

2 Timothy 3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger a torrent, But who is able to stand before jealousy?

These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the roots….”

You can do great things for God in your everyday life. You can have great faith and apply it to your everyday living, too. This is how God prepares us to minister to others, but if we only do it for ourselves to get better, stronger, and more powerful in him, that’s fine also. Everything does not have to be about ministry or having a great ministry somehow.

My testimony is not how I gave money to some big name minister and then POW all my prayers were answered. I studied the bible to minister yes, but wound up ministering to myself. We had this house we bought, it was too small but the only one available at the time. (detailed in my book Grace to the Rescue). For 11 years i paid on that house and watched the cost of living go up as the wages stayed the same. I watched others lose their homes and cried for them, and still stood strong in believing we would always make the payments. I would say to God “You brought us here you will help us make the payments”

Sometimes it was rough, let me tell you. There were times we looked foolish for keeping that house. We had people tell us we should just give it back to the bank, as we were upside down in it, meaning it’s value was less than what we paid. (This was after 2009)

We made improvements when it seemed futile, and kept going, even though the house was so small we sometimes had trouble being grateful for it. I would pray and say HELP US be Thankful Lord! IN Jesus’ name! 11 years later, we sold the house. God made a way for us to get a bigger house, and it’s all paid for. This was all by faith, and as I said it’s not because I tithed (I believe everything belongs to God not just 10 percent) and it’s not because this big name minister prayed for me, it’s because I kept believing, no matter what. God gave me the direction along with my husband to buy the house. From there i just said ‘you gave us the house, you will provide.” I hope this encourages someone today. I am drawing from that Testimony for a new one now, as I go forward in other faith ventures. Pressing on! With love to you all,

The reason there are “christians” that act like something in the cast of “Mean Girls” is that Christianity is a spiritually imparted thing, not a learned thing, not a church you join, not something you inherit from your parents, and not a lofty goal to achieve- by continually striving to get there. “Real” Christianity is receiving by God’s spirit His ways, his revelations, his fruits of the Spirit, and most of all; HIS kind of Love. The types who think they have it (and have just learned to use the bible to hurt people) are the types that will kick a new Christian when they are down, so watch out! Don’t be deceived either, into thinking these false representatives of Christ are a true picture of “who he is.” Their image may say christian while their actions continually display behavior of the evil one.

No one who is bornofGod will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been bornofGod. 1 John 3:9

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Gal 5:19-21